Chapter 6: Fulvio

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They were escorted by the group of soldiers for about two hours.  By the time they arrived at the encampment, it was already close to dusk.

Although “encampment” was hardly the right word for it.  There were no clear spaces in the forest to pitch a tent.  The forest was thick with trees, and the forest floor was covered with bushes.  Soldiers instead simply took their rest where they could.  Some had strung hammocks between the trees.  Others had constructed small shelters by leaning fallen sticks against a tree trunk.  And others were simply resting on the ground.  There were perhaps a hundred soldiers there.

“Send word to General Graten,” one of the soldiers said upon arriving.  “Tell them we have them, and are awaiting his orders.”

Two birds flew off to deliver the message.

Robert realized that the army must be terribly spread out throughout the forest.  It must be almost impossible to keep a huge army together.  The soldiers who had caught them were the fastest part of the group camped here, and the group camped here was ahead of the main army.

Nevertheless, as Robert surveyed the encampment, he realized that there were maybe about 500 soldiers sheltering here.  Most of them were human.  (Mora, after all, was primarily a human kingdom.)  But there were also several animals among them--some wolves, several birds, a few tigers and lions and jaguars, and others.  Robert knew they were not from the forest.  For one thing, Robert knew all the animals from this part of the forest.  But even if he did not know them, he could tell right away that they were not native woodland animals just by the way they acted.  They seemed uncomfortable in the forest.

The soldiers were talking amongst themselves.  “What shall we do with them while we’re waiting for the general?”

“We may as well give them some food.  They are still royalty.”

“What about the forest ranger?  He’s not royalty.  Shall we cut his throat?”

“What?  Cut the throat of the most valuable member of the party?  He’s the only one who knows the way through this miserable forest.  When we’re stuck in the middle of these woods, I’d kill one-hundred princes before I harmed a ranger.”

“Keep him tied up for now, at any rate.  We don’t want him sneaking off.”  

Robert was taken and had his hands tied behind his back.  They tied his feet together, and then tied the rope around the tree.  And then they left him there, while they went back to look after the princes and princess.

It was dusk now, and the sun was beginning to slowly set.  The sky (what could be seen of the sky through the trees) was glowing pink and red.

“Son of Midor,” came a squeaky voice from the tree.  “It is I, Fulvio.  I have come to repay the debt I owe to your father.”

Robert was careful not to move his head.  He looked straight ahead.  “Did you come alone?” he whispered.

“I have brought my whole family.”

“Excellent,” Robert said.  “Well done, Fulvio.  I knew you would not disappoint me.”

“What is your plan, Son of Midor?”

Robert looked around him.  Even though the soldiers had led them on a long walk back to the camp, he knew exactly where in the forest they were.  “The burrows are near here,” he said.  “If we can get there, we can hide from the soldiers.  Could you send one of your family to let them know we need their help?”

There was some squeaking in the trees, and then Fulvio replied to Robert, “My cousin is on his way now.”

“Great.  How long do you think it will take you and your family to chew through these ropes and get me free?”

“With all of us working on it at once?  We could chew through those ropes in ten minutes, tops.”

“Don’t start yet.  Wait until it gets completely dark.  It shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes now until the last of the sunlight disappears.”

Robert looked out at the activity of the soldiers.  They were giving some dried food and wine to Henry, Grace and John.  They were still being treated respectfully by the soldiers.  No one had dared to bind them with rope like Robert was bound.  But it was notable that soldiers always kept them in the middle of a big group.

Some of the soldiers were trying to start a fire with fallen branches and other dead wood.  Robert called out in a loud voice, “This grove is sacred to the forest nymphs.  Take care that you do not damage any of the trees with your fire.”

The soldiers stopped and stared back at Robert.  There was some debate about whether or not to heed his warning.  “He’s just a prisoner, don’t listen to him,” said one of them.

“He’s a forest ranger.  Better do as he says,” said another.

In the end, no big fire was kindled, although some individual torches were lit made from oily rags tied to wooden branches.  Once the last of the sun’s rays disappeared, the camp fell into darkness, punctuated by only a few spots of scattered light.

And with the fall of night, the mice set to work chewing through Robert’s ropes. 

The sound of flapping wings was heard.  The birds were coming back.  “What news?” one of the soldiers asked.

“The General says to kill them at once,” said one of the birds.  “Don’t wait until morning.  This forest is too unpredictable, and we can’t take any risks of them getting free.  Leave their bodies in the forest, but cut off their heads so King Richard can see proof that they’re dead.”

There was the sound of several swords being unsheathed.  The camp was still largely in darkness, but several of the torches were moving closer to Henry, John and Grace.

And then, there was the sound of yelping, and the torches began falling to the ground.  “What’s going on?” somebody yelled.

“Forest mice,” someone else yelled back.  “They’re swarming us.  They crawled all over me, and bit the hand that was carrying the torch.”

Several of the torches went out upon hitting the dirt.  A few of them were still burning on the ground, but the soldiers were busy yelping and trying to fend off the forest mice.

At this moment, the ropes around Robert’s hands fell away.  Fulvio and the rest of the mice had chewed through them.  The mice were still working on the bonds around Robert’s waist and legs, but now that Robert had his hands free, he helped to undo the rest of the ropes himself.

Meanwhile, Henry, Grace, and John were struggling to defend themselves in the dark.  No one could see anyone, and although the soldiers had their swords, they couldn’t see where to stab, and so were hacking wildly in the dark.  Henry laid his hands on one of the soldiers and grappled with him until he was able to wrestle free the sword out of the soldier’s grip.  Grace and John were doing their best to push the soldiers away.  The mice were also busy running up the legs of the soldiers, and giving them painful bites all over their bodies.

Robert ran into the melee.  Robert was aided by Fulvio, who sat on his shoulder and told him where to go, for mice can see perfectly fine in the dark. “There’s a soldier in front of you.  Step to the left.  Watch out for the one on the right.  Your friends are right in front of you.”

“Follow me!” Robert said.  He reached out for Grace’s hand.  Grace grabbed Robert’s hand, and John grabbed Grace’s hand.  Henry also ran beside them, still swinging his sword wildly at the soldiers.  

Somehow, they made their way through the crowd of soldiers, and ran into the forest.  The soldiers pursued them closely as they ran.  “Get them!” “Don’t let them get away!”

Robert’s eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness now, but he still let Fulvio guide him as they ran.  The soldiers were  close behind, but Robert knew that they just had to make it to the entrance to the burrow.  “Stay close,” Robert said.  “Don’t lose my hand.  Just a little bit further now.”

When they got to the big tree, the badgers were expecting Robert.  They had the hole in the ground at the base of the tree already uncovered.  “Jump in here,” Robert called to the others, before jumping himself.  Henry, Grace and John followed him.  The Badgers immediately covered the hole back up with roots and leaves, and the entrance to the burrow was once more hidden.  When the soldiers came, they ran right past the tree.

Robert, Henry, Grace and John slid down a dirt slide, and then landed in a large underground room.  It was completely dark under the ground (there was not even the light of the stars or the moon) and so they couldn’t see anything at all.  But they were reassured by Robert.  “Don’t worry.  You’re safe here.”

“Where are we?” asked John.

“You are in the badger burrow,” said a voice.  “And you are most welcome as our guests.  The son of Midor is always welcome here.”

It was too dark for John to see the full extent of the room.  But just by being able to stand up in the room, he knew that it was much bigger than a normal badger burrow.  “This is a badger burrow?” he asked.

“The room you are in now is the entrance,” said the voice.  “It was built specifically to be large enough for humans.  We built it for Midor, so he could come in the burrow anytime he pleased.”

“Friend Andrew,” said Robert to the badger, “We thank you for your help.  May I present to you the princes and princess of the Kingdom of Mora.  They are pursued by the soldiers above the ground.  May we spend the night here?”

“Son of Midor, you know we would refuse you nothing because of the debt we badgers owe to your father.  I am sorry that it is so dark down here.  I know you humans cannot see in the dark as well as we badgers can.  Go to sleep now, and in the morning, when the sunlight returns, I will show your friends our badger hospitality.”

“Sleep?” asked John.  “How could we possibly go to sleep after all that excitement? My heart is still racing from running through the woods.”

“It’s pitch black in here,” said Henry.  “What else are we going to do?”

“I think you’ll find,” said Robert, “That as soon as you lie down on the ground, you’ll fall asleep soon enough.  We’ve had an exhausting day walking and running all through the woods.”

And indeed, Robert was right.  As soon as Henry, John and Grace put their heads down on the dirt floor of the badger burrow, they were asleep in no time.

War with the Bear King--Discarded Drafts

[These are alternative versions of chapter 5, 6, and 7.  It illustrates the dangers of making a story up as you go along--sometimes you write yourself into a corner.  In this case, one event lead to another, and before long I realized that the story had taken a very violent turn too soon.  It was a climax in the wrong place in the narrative, and what's more, I felt the tone had changed and I had lost the light-hearted feel that the story had started out with.  So I decided to disregard it, and start again from Chapter 5.  ]

Chapter 5
One the second day, the water ran out.  Robert led them down to a stream, and they re-filled their satchels there.
Robert decided it would be best to follow the river for a while, and they walked alongside it.
The river was shallow but noisy, as it rushed and cascaded over the rocks.  John asked if there were any other streams or rivers in the forest.  Robert told them that there were much bigger rivers inside the forest.  Some of the rivers were as wide as lakes.
They walked for the rest of the day, and slept by the river. 
Then, on the third day, Robert told them about the Bear King.
Robert didn’t know quite how to begin when talking about the Bear King, so he started out philosophically.  “In this forest, there are many good creatures, but there are also many bad creatures.  If you want to survive in this forest, you can’t be picky about your friends. Occasionally, you may have to be friends with creatures who do horrible things.  My father understood that.  That’s why my father was able to travel so far into this forest and stay alive.”  Robert took a breath before continuing.  “The Bear King is a terrible tyrant.  He is ruthless and brutal to all those who live within his kingdom.  And he is constantly making trouble for all the territories next to his kingdom.  But my father won his respect years ago.  And as the son of Midor, the Bear King also considers me his friend.  The Bear King’s friendship has protected me all these years, and helped to keep me alive.  So when I am in his kingdom, I bow down and submit to him.  Even though I know he is a tyrant.”
“What makes him so bad?” asked Grace.
“I suppose you know that long ago the animals used to eat one another?” asked Robert.  “That once the wolf ate the deer, and the fox ate the rabbit?”
“We learned that at school,” said John.  “If anything our teachers told us can be trusted.”
“It was true,” said Robert.  “Once, long ago, before the age of man, this is how the animals lived.  But when man introduced civilization, the animals moved into the cities with the men.  In order to work with each other, the animals had to learn not to eat each other.  It was discovered that the meat eaters could survive on certain kinds of plants.”
“Yes, that is what our teachers said,” John replied.
“But, the meat eaters have never lost their sharp teeth and their claws.  Deep in the forest, away from civilization, some of them have reverted to their old ways.”
“You mean some of the animals eat each other?” Grace asked in disbelief.  “Can they find no other food?”
“The forest has every kind of food.  But the Bear King prefers to strike fear into his enemies.  He has an army of bears, wolves, foxes, hawks, and other meat eaters.  They have tyrannized this forest for years.  They insist that all other animals obey them.  And any animal who speaks out against them, gets eaten.”
Henry unsheathed his sword and twirled it through the air.  “A tyrant like that deserves to be slain,” he said.
“In this forest, it does no good to think too much on the way things deserve to be,” said Robert.  “There is the way things are.  That is what we must concern ourselves with.  The Bear King is a giant.  He stands 10 feet tall, with huge claws, and strong jaws.  No one has ever challenged him to combat and lived.  And that’s assuming you could even get near him.  His army of wolves and bears would tear you apart the moment you took out your sword.”
“Then why did he like your father?” asked John..
“The important thing about a tyrant is that he has to be contained,” said Robert.  “If the Bear King only terrorizes those who choose to live within his territory, then the other creatures of the forest can deal with him.  After all, there are no walls or fences here within the forest.  Any animal that dislikes his reign can just leave the territory.  The problems come when the Bear King and his army try to look for food outside their territory.  Then there is trouble.  But my father was very good at stopping this.  Whenever there was trouble between the Bear King and another group inside the forest, my father always managed to negotiate a peace.  He was very good at getting the Bear King whatever he needed so that the Bear King would stay inside his territory.  For years there was fighting between the Bear King and the Elves.  Hundreds died on both sides.  But my father finally negotiated a peace between them.  The Bear King agreed to stay in his territory, and the Elves agreed to share their food and wine.  In time, the Bear King began to trust my father to always negotiate in his favor.  And the other creatures of the forest began to trust my father to always keep the Bear King in his territory.”
“Whose side was your father on?” asked Henry, with a bit of an edge in his voice.
“My father was on everyone’s side.  He made sure that the Bear King always got what he wanted, but he made sure that everyone else always got what they wanted as well.  A skilled negotiator can make everyone win.”
“And leave the murderer still on his throne?” asked Henry.
“It was not within my father’s power to defeat the Bear King.  The only thing that could be hoped for was to contain him.  Thanks to the treaties my father worked out, the Bear King was contained in his own territory.  And the Bear King was happy about it.  The forest had peace once more.”
Henry was still fuming, but John gave Robert a sympathetic look.  “I understand,” said John.  “Your father did what he needed to do.  But still, the Bear King sounds like just the sort of fellow we’d like to avoid if at all possible.  Why are you bringing us into his territory?”
“Look here,” said Robert.  He picked up a stick, and drew on the ground.  He made a small dot.  “This is us here.”  Then, directly above the dot, Robert drew a large circle.  “This is the Bear King’s territory.  We could go around it, but it would take us weeks to hike all the way around it.  King Richard’s soldiers would surely catch us.  It’s much quicker to go straight through. That, plus, I am a friend of the Bear King.  He will remember my father, and grant me safe passage.  King Richard’s soldiers will be killed if they try to follow us into the Bear King’s kingdom.  It’s the safest possible thing we could do.”
“And what’s on the other side of the Bear King’s kingdom?” asked John.
“Directly outside of the Bear King’s territory, there is much forest where no one is ruler.  But then we will get to the Elvish Kingdom.  And then after the Elves, the land of the fairies.  And then after the land of the fairies…” Robert shrugged.  “I don’t really know.”
“Did your father not travel that far?” asked Grace.
“My father travelled that far, and much much further.  But I was not with him then.  And he told me so many stories I have difficulty remembering which lands were which.”
“King Richard’s soldiers will never find us that deep,” Grace said.  “He could send what armies he wishes, and still not find us.”
“Forget about King Richard and his soldiers,” said John.  “We’re going to discover things no one back in Mora has even heard of.  We’ll write books of our travels, and be remembered through history.”
The group started walking again.  They were still following the river.  It was about midday now, and the sun was sparkling through the trees.  The clear river water sparkled in the sunlight.  They could see straight down to the bottom of the river, and they could see a lot of the fish swimming.  John asked if the fish had their own kingdoms too.  Robert replied that the fish didn’t have one big king, but there were various local chiefs at different bends in the river. 
Occasionally some of the fish would even pop their heads out of the water, and greet Robert as “the son of Midor”.  Robert impressed the others by knowing all the fish by name, and greeting them back.
They slept that night under the stars, next to the river.  They all took Robert’s advice, and were careful to only use dead wood for the fire, and not to harm any of the trees.

**************************************

Two days later, Robert led them into the Bear King’s territory.
“I know you are all Princes and Princesses in the Kingdom of Mora,” Robert said.  “But here, the Bear King is in command.  You must treat him as a king.  Do not talk to him unless he addresses you first.  Let me do all the talking otherwise.  I will negotiate safe passage for us.”
There were no walls or markers indicating where the Bear King’s territory began.  But Robert was familiar with all the trees in the forest, and he knew when they had passed into the Bear King’s territory.
Less than 10 minutes after Robert told them they were in the Bear King’s territory, the alarms began to sound.  It started with one of the birds, who saw them from the trees, and began to hoot.  Then the chirping was replaced with barking and howling, and soon they were surrounded by growling wolves.
Henry pulled out his sword, and Grace got her bow and arrow ready to shoot.  But Robert quickly put out his hand to stop them. 
Robert addressed the wolves by name.   “Jarus, Lotus, Grato, greetings.  You look well.  It has been many months.”
The sound of Robert’s calm voice had an immediate effect on the wolves.  They stopped their hostile growling, and the leader nodded his head respectfully.  “Apologies son of Midor.  We saw the strange humans, and did not realize you were among them.  Why have you brought these others into our territory?”
“These are the princes and princess of the human kingdom of Mora.  They are fleeing from their enemies.  I have come to ask the Bear King for safe passage.”
“You know the Bear King will not refuse you anything,” said the wolf.  “Follow us and we will bring you to him.”
A couple of the wolves ran on ahead, and the rest stayed as an escort to the humans as they walked through the forest.  Robert talked with all of them, and exchanged news and information and gossip.  Because Henry, Grace and John didn’t know any of the creatures they were gossiping about, the conversation made no sense to them.  But it seemed very interesting to Robert.
They walked up a hill.  The hill was covered with trees and green bushes just like the rest of the forest, but at the top there was a big clump of leafy trees whose branches obscured the view.  Robert explained that this was the throne room of the Bear King.  He knelt down on his knees while the wolves announced their arrival.
The leafy branches were then brushed aside by a large black bear, and Robert stood up and motioned for the others to come forward.
John pointed to the black bear “Is that the--?”
“That is only the attendant,” Robert said.  “The King is over there.”
The Bear King was huge.  A large brown grizzly bear, he was standing to his feet as the visitors arrived.  He was easily 10 feet tall.
“Greetings Son of Midor,” he said in a booming voice.
Robert immediately fell to a kneeling position again.  “My king,” he said.
Robert quickly motioned for the others to kneel as well.  John and Grace did so, although they slowly got down on their knees, and did not fall to the ground like Robert had done.
Henry stayed standing.  The wolves began growling.
“Who is this that refuses to kneel before me in my own throne room?” the Bear King’s voice boomed out.
“I am a prince of Mora, and the rightful king of all the lands inside Mora,” Henry said.  “And I will never kneel before tyrants.”
Robert was so shocked at this that he didn’t know what to do.  He knew Henry was proud and stubborn, but he had never expected this level of self-immolation.  He also had assumed Henry’s silence meant that Henry had agreed to follow his instructions.  Robert had not yet learned that Henry seldom agreed to follow anyone’s instructions.
It was Grace who spoke up.  “Henry you can’t do this,” she said angrily.  “The rest of us never agreed to a fight.  We’re not ready.  It’s unfair for you to just decide.”
“I have to do what’s right,” Henry said.  “I am a Prince of Mora.”
Henry had his sword drawn out.
Grace stood up and faced her brother.  “It’s not fair Henry. You should have discussed this with the rest of us.  We weren’t ready.”
Henry winced a bit as he felt the truth of Grace’s words.  It had been unfair of him to decide on confrontation without having consulted the rest of them first.  But Henry was reluctant to admit he had been wrong.  He started talking again “A Prince must always--”
The arrow flew out from Grace’s bow and hit the Bear King straight in the chest.  Everyone gasped in surprise.  Everyone had been so focused on Henry and his sword that no one had noticed Grace quickly fit the arrow to her bow and turn and shoot the Bear King.
Even the Bear King scarcely knew what was happening.  He looked down to see the arrow sticking out of his chest, and then looked up with a questioning face, as if he were trying to figure out what had just happened.
A second arrow from Grace’s bow hit the Bear King again in the chest.  And then a third arrow went into his neck.  The Bear King fell to the ground.
As soon as the Bear King fell over, Grace turned back to Henry.  “You have to tell us when you’re going to fight,” she said.  “The rest of us need to prepare.  You can’t just do everything by yourself.”
The Bear King’s army was unsure of how to react.  The wolves were growling, and pacing back and forth, but no order to attack had yet been given. 
Grace had another arrow fitted into her bow, ready to fire. 
Henry held his sword ready.  Henry wished he had his shield with him as well--a good solid shield would protect him nicely from the gnashing teeth of the wolves.  But his shield had been too heavy to carry on a long journey through the woods, and so Henry had brought only his sword.
Robert had no weapons, but Robert knew how to find weapons quickly in the forest.  He picked up a stick, and a rock.
Only John was completely unarmed.
“What now, Son of Midor?” asked one of the wolves.
“Either we fight to the death here,” Robert said.  “Or we make a new peace.  Making a new peace is better for both of us.”
“You mean it’s better for you,” growled the wolf.  “You wouldn’t last 5 minutes against us.  Our teeth would tear you apart.”
“I’m more useful to you alive,” Robert said.  “I can act as your ambassador just like I did with the Bear King.  I can go to the Elf King, and the Free Animal Coalition, and get them to agree to keep their old treaties they had with the Bear King.  Only this time, you, Jarus, will be recognized as the king.”
“Jarus! A wolf as king?” the black bear spoke out.  “Never! The Bear King’s kingdom should go to a bear.”
“I have been the loyal Captain of the King’s guard,” said Jarus.  “I have served him faithful all these years.  I deserve to take his place as King.”
The black bear laughed.  “You served him faithfully?  The Bear King was killed right in front of you and you did nothing.”
Jarus howled with rage, and ran at the black bear.  The black bear roared, and showed his teeth.  Jarus leaped into the air to attack.
“Now, run!” said Robert.
Henry, Grace and John followed Robert.  A few of the wolves looked confused as to whether to chase the escaping humans, or help their captain.  And since their captain was too busy fighting to give them orders, nobody told them what to do.
One wolf ran after them.  Grace moved quickly, and had her arrow ready.  But Robert stopped her.  “Lotus, do you come to fight?” he asked.  Grace realized this was one of the wolves that Robert had been gossiping with earlier.
The wolf bowed his head.  “Son of Midor, I have always been your friend,” Lotus answered.  “Now that the Bear King is dead, I have no one to serve.  Let me come with you.  I will protect you as you travel through the Bear King’s territory.”
Robert turned to the others.  “Since you killed the Bear King, we never did get our promise of safe passage.  We probably need his protection. And he is a good friend.  I can vouch for him.”
“I thought you said the Bear King was a tyrant,” said Henry.  “How can we trust one of his guards?”
“Not all the Bear King’s soldiers are bad,” said Robert.  “It’s true that many of them are cruel, but others are just doing their duty.  I’ve been on friendly terms with many of them.”
Henry still seemed unsure of the wolf.  So Grace jumped in.  “If he can help us get through the territory, he is more than welcome to join us.  I’m sure we need all the help we can get.”
And so the 5 of them set off.

Chapter 6

It took them several days to get through the Bear King’s Kingdom.  But eventually, they got to the other side of it.

As with when they entered the kingdom, there was nothing to indicate they were leaving the kingdom.  Robert and Lotus simply recognized the trees, and they knew they had come to the end of the kingdom, and they mentioned it to Henry, Grace, and John.

“So where are we now?” asked John.

“This part of the forest is free,” said Robert.  “But it’s patrolled by the Free Animal Coalition.”

“Who are they?” asked Grace.

“They’re an army of volunteers.  They came together to form a defense against the Bear King during the time of the forest wars.  My father negotiated a peace between them and the Bear King as well.”

“Here some of them come now,” said Lotus.

Through the trees in the distance they could see a bear and a deer coming forward.

“It’s a bear,” said John. “But I thought…”

“Not all the carnivores joined with the Bear King,” Robert said.  “Most of them did not, actually.  And some of them even joined the Free Animal Coalition to fight against the Bear King.”

The deer approached them.  It was a large buck with strong legs and big antlers.  “Welcome, son of Midor,” the deer said to Robert.  Then he turned to Lotus.  “Lotus, what is the meaning of this? You are out of your territory.”

“Lotus travels with me now,” said Robert.  “The Bear King is dead.”

“What happened?” the bear and the deer blurted out at once.

“These humans who I brought with me,” Robert gestured to the others, “refused to bow down before him.”

“Who is in control of his army now?” asked the Bear.

“When we fled, Jarus the wolf was battling Wital the bear,” Robert answered.  “We didn’t stay to see who was victorious.”

“This is a dark day,” said the deer.  “We must prepare at once.”

Henry butted into the conversation.  “But why?” Henry asked.  “We killed your enemy for you.  You should be happy.”

The deer stared at Henry, and stamped the ground with his hoof impatiently.  “The Bear King was terrible, it is true.  But Midor had brought the Bear King under control.  Now that the Bear King is dead, we don’t know who will control his army.  The forest could return to the days of war, before Midor’s peace.”

“We should attack the Bear King’s army now,” said the bear.  “Before they have a chance to form up.  While they are still leaderless.”

“No,” said Robert.  “Wait for them to come to you.  The new leader will want the same guarantees that the Bear King had.  If you renew your peace treaties with the new leader, you can restore peace in the forest.  I can help.”

Lotus cleared his throat.  “Son of Midor, your father was greatly respected by everyone in the forest as a neutral arbitrator.  But you brought the assassins inside the Bear King’s court.  You’ve lost your neutral standing.  You will no longer be welcomed into the kingdom with open arms, but viewed with suspicion.”

Robert stood silent as he realized the truth of Lotus’s words.

“You see, Henry?” said Grace angrily.  “This is why you don’t meddle in things you don’t understand.”

“Me?” said Henry.  “You killed the Bear King.”

“Only because you forced my hand.  John and I were kneeling.  Robert had told us to kneel.  But you never listen to anyone.  You always think you know best because you are a prince.  But you’re wrong. You don’t know anything about this forest or how it operates.  You need to listen to Robert.”

Robert turned back to the animals.  “What do you want me to do?” he asked the deer and the bear.

The deer and the bear looked at each other, before the deer answered, “Go to the Elf King.  Go quickly.  Tell him what has happened.  Tell him that we are marching into the Bear King’s territory, and request his assistance.  It is important that we make a combined show of strength against the Bear King’s armies.  We want peace, but we want to negotiate it from a strong position. Once the Elvish army is assembled next to ours, then we can make the new peace with whoever gets control of the Bear King’s army.”

Robert nodded.  “We will go as quickly as we can.”

“I will come with you,” said the Bear, “to represent the Free Animal Coalition in person.”

“You are most welcome,” Robert said.  Robert made introductions to the others quickly.  “This is Akai.  He is a bear, but don’t let that fool you.  Many bears have fought for the Free Animal Coalition against the Bear King.”

Henry, Grace, and John gave their names.

“We have no time to lose,” said Akai. “We must move quickly if we are to get to the Elf King in time.”

“And I must talk to the others in the Free Animal Coalition,” said the deer.

“Farewell Tirus,” said the Bear to the deer.

“Good luck Tirus,” said Robert.  

The deer nodded and ran off.

“Well, which way shall we go?” Robert asked Akai.  “This is your territory.  You must know the quickest way.”

“No one knows this forest better than you, Son of Midor,” said Akai.  “If anyone knows the quickest way, it is you.”

“Follow me then,” said Robert, and he set off at a run.

And the group ran through the forest after Robert.

They kept up the fast pace for about an hour, but none of them could run forever.  Eventually they stopped to rest and drink near a stream, and then when they started up again, they kept at a walk.

They walked at a brisk pace for 3 days.  And then they entered the Elvish part of the forest.

As with before, there were no markers that Henry, Grace or John could see.  But Robert, Lotus, and Akai all seemed to know when they were in Elvish territory.

They met a rabbit walking along through the forest.  Robert greeted the rabbit by name, and said, “Tell the Elf King that we have come.  We will wait here for him.”

Robert, Akai, and Lotus then sat down to wait.  Robert explained to the others, “It is very dangerous to proceed through the Elvish territory without permission.  Even for the Son of Midor.  We will wait here for the Elf King to come to us.”

They only waited an hour before the a delegation of elves arrived.

Henry, Grace, and John were all surprised that the Elves looked nothing like they expected.  They had known some elves in the city, and the elves were usually of diminutive stature--about half as tall as a human.

These forest Elves, however, were just as tall as humans. If anything, they were taller than the average human. They had pointed ears, but other than that, they looked extremely human looking.

The tallest one stepped forward, and nodded at Robert.  “Greetings son of Midor.  You honor us with your presence.”  The Elf then turned to the bear.  “Greetings Akai.  I fought by your side in the wars against the Bear King.”

Akai nodded his head.  “I remember.”

Then the Elf turned to the wolf.  “Lotus, this is not your territory.  What is your purpose.”

“Lotus is with us now,” said Robert.  “The Bear King is dead.”

The Elf raised his eyebrows in surprise.  “Then who controls his territory?”

“We don’t know,” answered Robert.  “That is what we have come about.  There is likely to be a civil war inside the Bear King’s kingdom.”

The Elf nodded.  “I see,” he said.  “Well, you had better come to the council.  Quickly.”  

The Elves ran through the forest and Robert, Lotus, Akai, Henry, Grace and John followed them.

As they ran through the forest Henry, Grace and John began to notice that the things were changing around them.  The trees starting getting bigger and thicker.  Before long the trunks of the trees were as round as houses.  And then, they started noticing that there were windows carved into the side of the trees.  And through the windows, they could see movement and faces.  Eventually they realized that the Elves had their homes inside of the trees.

At first, there were just a few tree homes.  But gradually the tree homes got closer and closer together, and before long, they realized that they must be in the center of the Elf town.

In some ways it resembled a human town.  There was a central path going through the town, and houses and shops on either side of the path.  But everything was inside of the trees.  there were windows and doors carved in on the side of the trees, but there were no outside buildings in the forest.  

There was much of the noise of a human town.  The sound of Elves coming and going, shopping and bargaining.  But it had all the smells and colors of the forest.  It smelled like dirt and moss and fresh leaves.  And like everywhere else in the forest, it was full of green.  Green ivy hung from the trees, green bushes grew on the ground, and as always, leaves growing in all of the trees above their heads.

Henry, Grace and John also noticed that it was not only Elves in the Elf village.  Other animals also filled the paths, and were darting in and out of houses.  A hedgehog was in one of the wine shops, trying to bargain over the price of some Elvish wine.  The next shop over was actually run by animals.  A family of foxes was selling fruit and vegetables that must have been harvested from human fields, and the Elves were paying in silver and jewels.

And yet, although the town had shops and schools, it did not appear to be the case that everyone had employment.  Most of the Elves and animals were either relaxing and talking to each other, or were hopping through the tree branches playing some sort of game of tag.

After days in the forest, the sight of civilization--even an Elf and animal civilization--made the human children feel almost homesick.  They all felt that they wanted to stay in the Elf Town.

“How would you like to live here?” Grace said in amazement.

“I could get used to it,” John said.  “It’s like a city back home, only much greener.  And it smells fresher.”

Only Henry was discontented.  “There’s nothing for us here,” he said.  “We are Princes and Princesses.  We can not waste our days being idle in an Elf town.”

After Henry’s outburst, they three walked in silence for a while.  Up ahead, Robert was talking to the Elves.  Akai the Bear and Lotus the Wolf walked next to the 3 human teenagers.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” said John.  “Robert told us that we should never harm a tree in the forest.  So how could these Elves carve their homes into the trees?”

Akai answered.  “The Elves carved nothing,” he said.  “The trees grew this way themselves.  Some trees prefer to grow this way to attract Elves.  Then when the Elves move into these trees, they protect them.”

“Protect them from what?” asked Grace.

“From fires, from termites, from giants and from trolls and from anything that could harm the trees.  Out in the forest, most trees are unprotected.  But if they can attract an Elf village, like this one, then they are protected from anything.  But the Elves would never move in without talking to the trees first.”

“Can these trees talk?” asked John.  “Robert told us that trees deep in the forest can talk.”

“We are not quite deep enough in the forest for trees to talk outloud in a language humans can understand,” said Akai.  “But the Elves can talk to trees anywhere.  Elves are especially sensitive to the sounds of the forest.”

Once they got to the center of the village, Akai, Lotus, and Robert were led to the Elf council.  The 3 human princes and princess were not yet approved to visit the Elf council, and they were led off to a different room in another tree.  They were served hot food and wine, and inspite of themselves, Grace and John found themselves quite happy to eat and drink and let Robert worry about the politics of the forest.  Only Henry was upset.  He could not sit down, and kept pacing around the tree, and asked several times if he could be brought before the council as a prince of Mora.

At last, Robert came back to report.  “The Elf army has already left,” he said.  “They will join with the Free Animal Coalition, and go out to meet the remnants of the armies of the Bear King to either make peace or start the war.  I will go with the Elf army as one of the negotiators.  If I can bring peace, I will.  If the war starts, I will not join it, but leave the battle and return here.  Either way, you must stay here.  The remaining Elves will look after you while I’m gone. ”

Henry bolted up.  “Let us go with them,” he said.  He was practically pleading at this point.  “We can help fight.”

“It has never been my place to take part in the forest’s wars,” said Robert.  “I’ve always been a neutral agent.  Just like my father.”

“But I am not,” said Henry.

“Why do you wish to fight so much?” asked Robert.  “This is not your war.”

“A prince cannot sit behind in safety while others die,” said Henry.

Robert looked down at the ground, and then up at the ceiling.  He let out a long sigh, before finally saying, “Very well.  You can come.”

Chapter 7

Because they had been fleeing into the forest, Henry, Grace and John had travelled light.  Henry had his sword, and Grace had her bow and arrows.  But neither of them had shields or armor.  And John had no weapons.

The Elves equipped them.  They each got shields and helmets.  John was given a sword, and Grace was given new arrows.

They joined the ranks of the Elf army, and marched out with the Elfs.  Robert, Lotus the Wolf and Akai the Bear marched next to them in the formation.

Eventually they met up with the Free Animal Coalition.

The Free Animal Coalition wasn’t really an army.  They didn’t march in formation, and they didn’t have armor or weapons.  But there were hundred of animals assembled.

Tirus the Deer stepped forward from the Free Animal Coalition.  Robert and Akai stepped forward to meet him, and the Elf King came forward as well.

“Any news?” asked Robert.

“The last report we got was that the Bear King’s army was still fighting amongst itself,” said Tirus.  “The wolves have taken one side, the bears have taken another.”

“Now is our chance,” said the Elf King.  “We must move forward and crush them.  We’ll never have a better chance to defeat the forces of the Bear King.”

“Their army is still ferocious,” said Tirus.  “It would not be an easy battle.”

“It will be even harder if we wait until they have re-organized,” said the Elf King.  “When they reform, and then they march against us, then you will be sorry that we did not take this opportunity when they were weak.”

“If we march now,” said Robert, “then we have a chance of defeating them.  But then what?  What would we do with the prisoners?  Who will pursue the survivors?  The Free Animal Coalition abandoned that territory years ago.  The only animals who live in that territory are supporters of the Bear King’s army.  We would have to either imprison them all, or we would have to station one of our armies their for years.  Neither the Free Animal Coalition nor the Elf Town has an extra army to spare.”

“What do you suggest?” asked the Elf King.

“We wait,” said Robert, “until someone is control of the Bear King’s army.  Then we negotiate a peace-treaty with them.  And we let them control the territory.”

Just then, there was the sound of a commotion.  They could hear two animals running through the forest.  They looked, and saw a rabbit running as fast as it could, pursued by a fox that was snapping at its feet.

“It’s one of our scouts,” said Tirus.  

“He’s not going to make it,” said Akai.  “That fox will catch him before he gets to us.”

The Elf King grabbed his bow and fitted an arrow to it.  His eyes narrowed as he took careful aim.  Just as the fox’s jaws were about to close on the rabbit, the Elf King’s arrow went straight throw the fox, killing him instantly.

The rabbit arrived still shaking from his close call.  “It’s okay Porcia,” said Tirus the deer.  “You’re safe now.  What have you to report?”

“It’s worse than we’ve feared,” said Porcia the rabbit. 

“Who has control of the Bear King’s armies?” asked Akai.

“The dragon’s children have returned,” said Porcia.

Robert put his hands to his head, and sat down in shock.  Akai and Lotus moaned in despair.  Even the Elf King looked pale.

“Who are the dragon’s children?” asked Grace.

“You’ve never seen a dragon, have you?” asked Robert.  “I don’t think they live near the human towns.” 

“I thought they didn’t exist,” John said.  “They were only a legend.”

“They exist,” said the Elf King.  “In the mountains and the forest, dragons exist.”

John rolled his eyes.  “What liars our school teachers were!”

“Full grown dragons can be as big as houses,” said Robert.  “But they mature slowly.  It can take a hundred years for a young dragon to grow to full size.  The Bear King had 5 young dragons in his army.  They were all the children of the dragon from the Misty Mountain.  They were not yet full grown.  They were only as big as lions.  But they were still dangerous.  They had sharp claws, and spiky tails.  They had armored scales to defend themselves against swords and arrows.  And they could fly and breathe fire.  When they fought with the Bear King’s army, no one could defeat them.  Not even the Free Animal Coalition and the Elf army combined could defeat the Bear King’s army when the dragon’s children fought with him.  But, as part of the peace treaty that my father negotiated, the Bear King finally agreed to remove the dragon’s children from his army, and the 5 of them flew back to Misty Mountain.”

“They’ve returned,” said Porcia.  “When the Bear King died, the wolves and the bears fought for control.  But Serlus the black bear won the fight.  And the hawks were sent to fetch the dragon’s children.”

“Now that the Bear King is dead, the old peace treaties are no longer in effect,” said Robert.

“What will we do?” asked the Elf King. “If the Bear King’s armies come at us with the dragon’s children, we cannot defeat them.”

“My father got the Bear King to send away the dragon’s children once before,” Robert said.  “In exchange for a promise from the Elves to give him regular shipments of wine and fruit and silver.”

“A humiliating tribute,” the Elf King spat out.

“An agreement that secured the peace of the forest for years,” said Robert.  “We can offer Serlus the black bear the same tribute.”

“Serlus won’t take it,” said Lotus the wolf.  “Serlus always believed that the Bear King should never have signed that treaty.  He thought it was a mistake to ask the Elves for the supplies instead of taking the whole Elf Town by force, and controlling the supplies directly.”

Porcia the rabbit nodded.  “Our spies send us the same information,” he said.

Henry unsheathed his sword and held it ready.  “I can fight the dragon’s children,” he said.

The Elf King wouldn’t even look at Henry, but yelled at Robert.  “Tell that fool to keep quiet!” he said.

Robert was still timid about contradicting Henry.  In a much meeker voice than the Elf King had used, Robert said, “Your sword would be useless against the dragon’s children.  Their scales protect them from our weapons.”

“How can we fight them?” asked Tirus.

Before anyone could answer that question, they heard a screeching sound, and saw the dragon’s children flying overhead.  It was followed by a roaring sound coming from the forest.

“The Bear King’s army is coming!” said Porcia.

Robert spoke quickly, addressing himself both to the Elf King and to the Free Animal Coalition.  “We don’t need to worry about the dragon’s children,” he said.  “They only follow orders.  We need to attack Serlus.  If we can kill or defeat him, the dragon’s children will go back to the mountain.”

There was another sound, this one of birds calling.  The sky was filled with hawks and eagles.  It was the first wave of the Bear King’s army.  They swooped down to attack, mostly picking on the smaller animals in the Free Animal Coalition.  The rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and mice all ran for cover.

There were some hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey in the ranks of the Free Animal Coalition, and they flew into the air to fight their counterparts in the Bear King’s army.  But there weren’t nearly as many on the Free Animal Coalition side.

The Elves took out their bow and arrows, and tried to shoot down some of the birds.  In return, some of the birds attacked the Elves, swooping down to try to bite and claw.  Most of the Elves managed to protect themselves with their shields and armor, but the birds still succeeded in causing chaos in their ranks.

Then came the sound of howls and growls.  From over the hill came waves of bears and wolves, all running to attack.

Again, the Free Animal Coalition had some bears and wolves as well.  Akai the Bear roared and showed his teeth.  Lotus the wolf, although he had only recently left the Bear King’s army, also growled at his former comrades.  

But there were much more bears and wolves on the other side.

The Elves shot arrows into the rushing bears and wolves.  A rain of arrows fell on the wolves and bears, but only a few of them fell down.  It hardly made a dent in the approaching army.

Then, the screeching sound was heard again.  The dragon’s children, who had initially flew over everyone, were now doubling back.  This time they flew in for the attack.  They breathed out fire as they flew down at the Elves.  

The Elf soldiers raised their shields to protect them from the dragons.  The fire coming from the dragon’s children was a small targeted stream that could be blocked by a shield.  But then afterwards, many of the shields became too hot to hold, and the Elves were forced to throw them down on the ground.

The dragon’s children flew up to the sky, but then started coming down again for another attack.

Meanwhile the Bear King’s army was still approaching.  Serlus the black bear was out in the front leading the charge.  Some of the animals from the Free Animal Coalition ran out to meet them.  And Henry ran out with them.

Henry ran straight for Serlus.  The black bear swung his claws at Henry.  Henry blocked the first blow with his shield, but the bear then began clawing wildly at him.  Henry was no match for the bear’s strength, and his shield was soon knocked away.  The bear roared fiercely, and the next swipe of his claws came straight at Henry’s face.  Henry brought up his sword to try to block the blow, but he only succeeded in deflecting the claws slightly.  The claws tore through Henry’s skin, and he fell to the ground from the force of the blow.

Serlus the black bear opened up his jaws to bite Henry’s head, but just at that moment Akai the brown bear slammed into him. The two bears began fighting viciously.

While the bears fought, Henry’s struggled to sit up.  He was faint from the blow, and the claws had torn open his face.  Blood from his wounds was getting into his eyes, and he couldn’t see.

Several of the wolves sprang forward to attack Henry while he was down.  But Tirus the deer charged over.  Tirus was a large buck, and had a big full set of antlers, which he used to charge the wolves as he also stamped his hooves ferociously.   Many of the wolves instinctively back away.  One of them attacked, but Tirus caught the wolf on his antlers, and tossed him into the air.

Grace also ran up to protect Henry’s body.  With her bow and arrow drawn, she shot arrows at any wolves who got too close.  Lotus growled protectively by Grace’s feet.

John and Robert ran up next.  They each grabbed one of Henry’s arms, and they helped him to his feet, and then led him back toward the Elf army, while Lotus, Grace, and Tirus protected them.

As Henry was brought away to safety, Grace turned her bow and arrow towards Serlus the black bear.  But Serlus and Akai were fighting so fiercely now that Grace couldn’t get a clean shot at Serlus.  As the wolves kept coming, Grace had to retreat with the rest until they reached the ranks of the Elf army again.

Back at the Elf army, John and Robert put Henry down on a patch of grass next to a tree.  Robert began asking the Elves for juice from a certain root, and started applying the juice to the wound’s on Henry’s face.  “He’ll be alright,” said Robert.  “The wounds will leave deep scars, but he won’t die.”

While Robert was attending to Henry, the dragon’s children were swooping down for another attack.  The Elves fired arrows at them, but the arrows just bounced off the dragons’ scaly armor.  John watched the whole thing carefully.

“They must have some weakness!” John said.

“The inside of their mouths,” said Robert.  “If somehow you could thrust a spear right into their mouth, they aren’t protected there.  That is, if you could get past their teeth and their fire.  And if you can get close enough, you could put a weapon in between their scales,” said Robert.  “But no one has ever been able to get close enough.”

As the dragons swooped down again, John watched carefully to see how far close they got to the ground.  The dragons were flying down quite close to the army--they were only maybe 2 or 3 feet about the Elves heads.  “I’ve got an idea,” said John.  “Is there any rope anywhere?”

Robert was still busy attending to Henry’s wounds, so John went and asked the Elf King.  The Elf King called out to his soldiers, and eventually some rope was found for John.  John immediately set to work tying a loose knot in the rope.

While this was going on, the battle raged fiercely.  Grace joined with the Elf archers to try and shoot arrows at the approaching bears and wolves, but they could not form up an organized line.  Every time they tried to get organized, the dragon’s children would swoop down and scatter them.

One of the dragon’s children swooped down, it’s head bent low to breath out fire as it passed by the Elves.  John tossed the rope up, and managed to catch the dragon around the neck in the noose.  The noose tightened around the neck of the dragon. As the dragon flew up again, it took the rope up with it, and John held on tight to the rope and was lifted up with the dragon.

Once the dragon realized it was pulling John along with it, it screeched angrily and flew around wildly.  John swung around in the air.  As the dragon took a sharp turn, the rope wiped around.  John couldn’t keep his hold, and was sent flying through the air.  He hit the ground rolling.

The dragon had only been about ten feet in the air at the time, so John wasn’t too badly hurt.  But he lay moaning on the ground.  Grace ran to help him.

The Elf King had seen the whole thing.  “He’s got the right idea,” the Elf King said to his soldiers.  “His arms were just too weak to complete it.”  Then in a commanding voice the Elf King ordered, “Give me a spear.”

One of his soldiers gave him a spear, and the Elf King ran toward the dragon.  

The dragon was flying back toward the ground for a second attack.  The rope hung low.  The Elf king grabbed the rope with one hand, and hung onto the spear with the other hand.  

The dragon tried to shake the Elf King off the same way it had gotten rid of John.  It fly wildly from side to side.  The rope snapped back and forth wildly, but the Elf King did not let go.  Then the dragon turned it’s head toward the Elf King to breath fire, but as soon as it opened it’s mouth, the Elf King shoved the spear in between it’s teeth and into the soft back part of its mouth.  The Elf King then let go of the rope and dropped to the ground.  He landed on his feet, but dropped into a roll to absorb the impact, then sprang back up to his feet again.

When the other four dragon’s children saw that their brother was dead, they screeched in outrage.  They all flew at the Elf King.  Each was coming from a different direction.

The Elf King yelled for another spear, and was thrown a spear by one of his soldiers.  As the dragons opened their mouths to attack, the Elf King managed to throw the spear into the mouth of a second dragon, killing it. 

The Elf King barely had time to take out his sword before the other three dragons’ came at him.  He swung the sword, and but it only glanced off of their armored scales.  The other three dragon’s tore him to pieces even as his Elves tried to save him.

By this time, the battle was raging ferociously.  The Bear King’s army had broken through the ranks of the Elves and the Free Animal Coalition.  There no longer was any Elf army in formation, there was just hand to claw fighting everywhere.

Henry and John were still wounded.  Henry was still weak from the cuts to his face.  John had broken a couple of ribs from his fall.  The two of them had to lie on the ground, while Robert and Grace protected them.  Robert had a sword from the Elves that he swung at an attacking bear.  Grace shot her arrows at attacking wolves.  Lotus fought stood by Grace’s side, and fought any wolves who managed to get past Grace’s arrows.

The dragon’s children were on the ground now.  They rampaged through the battle, breathing fire and burning up Elves, or tearing Elves apart with their teeth.

Serlus the Black Bear was still fighting Akai the Brown Bear.  The two had been fighting for a long time now, and they were beginning to get tired.  They still moved fast and furiously, but their swipes began to get clumsier and less accurate.

Chapter 5: The Bear King

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One the second day, the water ran out.  Robert led them down to a stream, and they refilled their satchels there.

Robert decided it would be best to follow the river for a while, and they walked alongside it.

The river was shallow but noisy, as it rushed and cascaded over the rocks.  John asked if there were any other streams or rivers in the forest.  Robert told them that there were much bigger rivers inside the forest.  Some of the rivers were as wide as lakes. 

They walked for the rest of the day, and slept by the river.  

Then, on the third day, Robert told them about the Bear King.

Robert didn’t know quite how to begin when talking about the Bear King, so he started out philosophically.  “In this forest, there are many good creatures, but there are also many bad creatures.  If you want to survive in this forest, you can’t be picky about your friends. Occasionally, you may have to be friends with creatures who do horrible things.  My father understood that.  That’s why my father was able to travel so far into this forest and stay alive.”  Robert took a breath before continuing.  “The Bear King is a terrible tyrant.  He is ruthless and brutal to all those who live within his kingdom.  And he is constantly making trouble for all the territories next to his kingdom.  But my father won his respect years ago.  And as the son of Midor, the Bear King also considers me his friend.  The Bear King’s friendship has protected me all these years, and helped to keep me alive.  So when I am in his kingdom, I bow down and submit to him.  Even though I know he is a tyrant.”

“What makes him so bad?” asked Grace.

“I suppose you know that long ago the animals used to eat one another?” asked Robert.  “That once the wolf ate the deer, and the fox ate the rabbit?”

“We learned that at school,” said John.  “If anything our teachers told us can be trusted.”

“It was true,” said Robert.  “Once, long ago, before the age of man, this is how the animals lived.  But when man introduced civilization, the animals moved into the cities with the men.  In order to work with each other, the animals had to learn not to eat each other.  It was discovered that the meat eaters could survive on certain kinds of plants.”

“Yes, that is what our teachers said,” John replied.

“But, the meat eaters have never lost their sharp teeth and their claws.  Deep in the forest, away from civilization, some of them have reverted to their old ways.”

“You mean some of the animals eat each other?” Grace asked in disbelief.  “Can they find no other food?”

“The forest has every kind of food.  But the Bear King prefers to strike fear into his enemies.  He has an army of bears, wolves, foxes, hawks, and other meat eaters.  They have tyrannized this forest for years.  They insist that all other animals obey them.  And any animal who speaks out against them, gets eaten.”

Henry unsheathed his sword and twirled it through the air.  “A tyrant like that deserves to be slain,” he said.

“In this forest, it does no good to think too much on the way things deserve to be,” said Robert.  “There is the way things are.  That is what we must concern ourselves with.  The Bear King is a giant.  He stands 10 feet tall, with huge claws, and strong jaws.  No one has ever challenged him to combat and lived.  And that’s assuming you could even get near him.  His army of wolves and bears would tear you apart the moment you took out your sword.”

“Then why did he like your father?” asked John..

“The important thing about a tyrant is that he has to be contained,” said Robert.  “If the Bear King only terrorizes those who choose to live within his territory, then the other creatures of the forest can deal with him.  After all, there are no walls or fences here within the forest.  Any animal that dislikes his reign can just leave the territory.  The problems come when the Bear King and his army try to look for food outside their territory.  Then there is trouble.  But my father was very good at stopping this.  Whenever there was trouble between the Bear King and another group inside the forest, my father always managed to negotiate a peace.  He was very good at getting the Bear King whatever he needed so that the Bear King would stay inside his territory.  For years there was fighting between the Bear King and the Elves.  Hundreds died on both sides.  But my father finally negotiated a peace between them.  The Bear King agreed to stay in his territory, and the Elves agreed to share their food and wine.  In time, the Bear King began to trust my father to always negotiate in his favor.  And the other creatures of the forest began to trust my father to always keep the Bear King in his territory.”

“Whose side was your father on?” asked Henry, with a bit of an edge in his voice.

“My father was on everyone’s side.  He made sure that the Bear King always got what he wanted, but he made sure that everyone else always got what they wanted as well.  A skilled negotiator can make everyone win.”

“And leave the murderer still on his throne?” asked Henry.

“It was not within my father’s power to defeat the Bear King.  The only thing that could be hoped for was to contain him.  Thanks to the treaties my father worked out, the Bear King was contained in his own territory.  And the Bear King was happy about it.  The forest had peace once more.”

Henry was still fuming, but John gave Robert a sympathetic look.  “I understand,” said John.  “Your father did what he needed to do.  But still, the Bear King sounds like just the sort of fellow we’d like to avoid if at all possible.  Why are you bringing us into his territory?”

“Look here,” said Robert.  He picked up a stick, and drew on the ground.  He made a small dot.  “This is us here.”  Then, directly above the dot, Robert drew a large circle.  “This is the Bear King’s territory.  We could go around it, but it would take us weeks to hike all the way around it.  King Richard’s soldiers would surely catch us.  It’s much quicker to go straight through. That, plus, I am a friend of the Bear King.  He will remember my father, and grant me safe passage.  King Richard’s soldiers will be killed if they try to follow us into the Bear King’s kingdom.  It’s the safest possible thing we could do.”

“And what’s on the other side of the Bear King’s kingdom?” asked John.

“Directly outside of the Bear King’s territory, there is much forest where no one is ruler.  But then we will get to the Elvish Kingdom.  And then after the Elves, the land of the fairies.  And then after the land of the fairies…” Robert shrugged.  “I don’t really know.”

“Did your father not travel that far?” asked Grace.

“My father travelled that far, and much much further.  But I was not with him then.  And he told me so many stories I have difficulty remembering which lands were which.”

“King Richard’s soldiers will never find us that deep,” Grace said.  “He could send what armies he wishes, and still not find us.”

“Forget about King Richard and his soldiers,” said John.  “We’re going to discover things no one back in Mora has even heard of.  We’ll write books of our travels, and be remembered through history.”

The group started walking again.  They were still following the river.  It was about midday now, and the sun was sparkling through the trees.  The clear river water sparkled in the sunlight.  They could see straight down to the bottom of the river, and they could see a lot of the fish swimming.  John asked if the fish had their own kingdoms too.  Robert replied that the fish didn’t have one big king, but there were various local chiefs at different bends in the river.  

Occasionally some of the fish would even pop their heads out of the water, and greet Robert as “the son of Midor”.  Robert impressed the others by knowing all the fish by name, and greeting them back.

They slept that night under the stars, next to the river.  They all took Robert’s advice, and were careful to only use dead wood for the fire, and not to harm any of the trees.

**************************************

Two days later, Robert led them into the Bear King’s territory.

“I know you are all Princes and Princesses in the Kingdom of Mora,” Robert said.  “But here, the Bear King is in command.  You must treat him as a king.  Do not talk to him unless he addresses you first.  Let me do all the talking otherwise.  I will negotiate safe passage for us.”

There were no walls or markers indicating where the Bear King’s territory began.  But Robert was familiar with all the trees in the forest, and he knew when they had passed into the Bear King’s territory.

Less than 10 minutes after Robert told them they were in the Bear King’s territory, the alarms began to sound.  It started with one of the birds, who saw them from the trees, and began to hoot.  Then the chirping was replaced with barking and howling, and soon they were surrounded by growling wolves.

Henry pulled out his sword, and Grace got her bow and arrow ready to shoot.  But Robert quickly put out his hand to stop them.  

Robert addressed the wolves by name.   “Jarus, Lotus, Grato, greetings.  You look well.  It has been many months.”

The sound of Robert’s calm voice had an immediate effect on the wolves.  They stopped their hostile growling, and the leader nodded his head respectfully.  “Apologies son of Midor.  We saw the strange humans, and did not realize you were among them.  Why have you brought these others into our territory?”

“These are the princes and princess of the human kingdom of Mora.  They are fleeing from their enemies.  I have come to ask the Bear King for safe passage.”

“You know the Bear King will not refuse you anything,” said the wolf.  “Follow us and we will bring you to him.”

A couple of the wolves ran on ahead, and the rest stayed as an escort to the humans as they walked through the forest.  Robert talked with all of them, and exchanged news and information and gossip.  Because Henry, Grace and John didn’t know any of the creatures they were gossiping about, the conversation made no sense to them.  But it seemed very interesting to Robert.

They walked up a hill.  The hill was covered with trees and green bushes just like the rest of the forest, but at the top there was a big clump of leafy trees whose branches obscured the view.  Robert explained that this was the throne room of the Bear King.  He knelt down on his knees while the wolves announced their arrival.

The leafy branches were then brushed aside by a large black bear, and Robert stood up and motioned for the others to come forward.

John pointed to the black bear “Is that the--?”

“That is only the attendant,” Robert said.  “The King is over there.”

The Bear King was huge.  A large brown grizzly bear, he was standing to his feet as the visitors arrived.  He was easily 10 feet tall.

“Greetings Son of Midor,” he said in a booming voice.

Robert immediately fell to a kneeling position again.  “My king,” he said.

Robert quickly motioned for the others to kneel as well.  John and Grace did so, although they slowly got down on their knees, and did not fall to the ground like Robert had done.

Henry stayed standing.  The wolves began growling.

“Who is this that refuses to kneel before me in my own throne room?” the Bear King’s voice boomed out.

“I am a prince of Mora, and the rightful king of all the lands inside Mora,” Henry said.  “And I will never kneel before tyrants.”

Robert was so shocked at this that he didn’t know what to do. He froze, unable to say anything.  He had known that Henry was proud and stubborn, but he had never expected this level of self-immolation.  He also had assumed Henry’s silence meant that Henry had agreed to follow his instructions.  Robert had not yet learned that Henry seldom agreed to follow anyone’s instructions.

While Robert stayed frozen, it was Grace who spoke up.  “Henry you can’t do this,” she said angrily.  “The rest of us never agreed to a fight.  We’re not ready.  It’s unfair for you to just decide.”

“I have to do what’s right,” Henry said.  “I am a Prince of Mora.”

Henry had his sword drawn out.

Grace stood up and faced her brother.  “It’s not fair Henry. You should have discussed this with the rest of us.  We weren’t ready.”

Henry winced a bit as he felt the truth of Grace’s words.  It had been unfair of him to decide on confrontation without having consulted the rest of them first.  But Henry was reluctant to admit he had been wrong.  He started talking again “A Prince must always--” 

The Bear King moved so fast that none of the humans even saw him coming.  With a swipe of his huge paw, he sent Henry flying through the air.  

As soon as Henry was hit, Grace’s nimble hands moved quickly.  She was able to  reach into her quiver, and fit an arrow to her bow all before the Bear King could turn around.  But before she had a chance to draw the bow back, the Bear King’s paw swung backwards and knocked her bow out of the ground.  John ran forward to help, but the Bear King also knocked him aside without even seeming to notice him.

Henry, meanwhile, hit the ground hard, and tumbled over along the forest floor before finally coming to a stop against one of the trees. He had lost his grip on his sword, which had gone tumbling in the other direction. While Henry was still dazed from the tumble, before he could even sit up, the Bear King was on top of him.  His paws pinned Henry to the ground.  He opened his huge mouth and roared in Henry’s face.  Then, he opened his jaws even wider, as if he were going to swallow Henry’s whole head.  His teeth covered Henry’s face, and he would only have to close his jaws to crush Henry’s head.

And then, the Bear King gently withdrew his mouth from Henry’s face, and removed his paw from Henry’s chest.  “You have learned,  Prince of Mora,” said the Bear King softly, “that all will kneel before me.  Because you would not willingly bend your knee, I forcibly subdued you.  But you kneeled nonetheless.  Go and leave my kingdom.  For the rest of your life, remember that I had you in my jaws, and I chose not to crush you. You live only because I allowed it.” 

All this time, Robert had stayed frozen kneeling on the ground.  But the Bear King now turned to face him.  “Son of Midor,” the Bear King roared,  “Know that it is only because of the respect I have for your father that I do not tear these three to pieces.  And know that because of the respect I have for you and your father, I would have granted safe passage to those who are travelling with you.  If they had but shown me my proper respect, my soldiers would have safeguarded them as they passed through my kingdom, and my army would have fallen upon their enemies.   For my wolves have told me that you say you are fleeing from enemies and that you sought my protection.  You, son of Midor, are always welcome in my kingdom when you travel alone.  But as long as you escort these three, I forbid you to pass through.”

Robert stood up slowly.  He had gone white during the confrontation between Henry and the Bear King, but now that the moment was over, the color was gradually returning to his face.  “I understand,” he said.

The Bear King pointed to one of his wolves.  “Jarus,” he said, “take them out the way they came.  They must exit my kingdom by the very path they came into it, for I do not permit them to gain even a foot of distance travelled through my dominions.”  Jarus nodded in obedience.  The Bear King added, “because of the son of Midor, we will not harm these humans.  But neither will we protect them.  If you encounter the army of Mora in our forest looking for these humans, you must not aid the humans in fighting them.  The humans have chosen to make their way without my protection.”  The Bear King turned back to Robert, and added, “This is but fair, son of Midor.”

The humans were permitted to retrieve their weapons.  Henry picked up his sword from the spot where he had dropped it without saying a word.  Grace picked up the bow and arrow that the Bear King had knocked out of her hand.  And then they walked back, escorted by the wolves.

Henry walked with his head held down, talking to no one.  He was trying to process what had happened to him, and trying to decide what he should have done.  By his own code, he hated to retreat from an enemy.  He had always thought it must be more honorable to fight until the death.  But the Bear King had already defeated him, and the Bear King had chosen to leave him alive.  So to start fighting again now, after having been defeated, would be even more dishonorable, he thought.  

Henry had never been in this position before.  He had never imagined himself in this position before.  In his previous life, as a prince in the Palace of Mora, he had never had to deal with defeat.  In all his games at the Palace, he had always been the winner.  In all his fantasies about battle and combat, he had also always been the winner.  He had no idea what to say or how to act.  So he walked in silence.

Robert also walked with shame.  He was embarrassed that he had frozen up in the middle of the crisis.  He particularly reproached himself for having frozen up while Grace had been in danger.  The past two days, as they had been walking, Robert had been thinking to himself non-stop about all the dangers of the forest, and he had begun fantasizing about how he would save Grace from all of them, and earn her gratitude as her protector.  And then, when the moment came, he had stayed frozen on the ground, and done nothing to help her.

The wolves, who were on friendly terms with Robert, were slightly embarrassed about having been  turned into Robert’s guards.  Jarus, the leader of the wolf pack, tried to alleviate the awkwardness by attempting to start a conversation about news from the neighboring lands.  Robert tried to keep up his end of the conversation, just for the sake of politeness, but it was obvious his mind was elsewhere.  And so the conversation died away, and the group walked in silence.

After about 20 minutes, however, a couple of the wolves began looking up in the trees, and growling.  

“What is it?” asked Henry.

“Those birds,” said Robert.  “They’re not from this part of the forest.”

“Intruders,” growled Jarus.  “They’re not part of our kingdom.”

“King Richard’s scouts,” said Grace.  

The birds were high up in the tree branches.  They knew they were safely out of the reach of man and wolf alike, and so they peered down without any fear, studying the procession carefully.

“Alert the Bear King that the army is coming,” said Jarus to one of his wolves.  The wolf ran off.

The birds took one last look at the humans, and then flew off slowly.  

“How far behind do you think the army is?” asked Jarus.

“The scouts wouldn’t be more than a few hours ahead of the army, at most,” Robert answered.

“Those birds must be so confused to see us heading right towards their army, instead of going in the opposite direction,” said Grace.  “No wonder they stared at us for so long.”

The wolves looked embarrassed again.  “We are sorry, son of Midor, to have to bring you right into the teeth of your enemies.  Let us get you to the border as soon as possible, so that you can start your journey around our kingdom before the army gets here.”

The wolves and Robert began to run.  Henry, Grace and John did their best to keep up.

At last, they came to the edge of the Bear King’s kingdom.  There was no wall, nor any kind of  sign, to mark the end of the territory.  But Robert and the wolves both knew exactly where the boundary was.  Then, the wolves said good-bye, and left.

The four humans stood awkwardly for a moment.  No one wanted to speak first.  

At last, Grace broke the silence.  “Robert, we’re so sorry,” she blurted out.  “I know we ruined everything.”

Henry chose his words more carefully.  He was still convinced that he had done the right thing by attempting to stand up to a tyrant, and so he didn’t want to apologize for it directly.  “I admit,” he said slowly, “that I would not be alive right now if it wasn’t for your influence.  And I will endeavor to follow your instructions in the future.”

Robert did not know what to say.  He knew he should have been angry at Henry.  He had everything planned out perfectly, and Henry had ruined it.  But at the moment, he was still so ashamed of himself for freezing up that he didn’t have any emotions leftover to be angry.  So he simply said, “King Richard’s army is approaching us directly.  We are not permitted to go through the Bear King’s kingdom, so we must go around it.  We should move quickly.”

They began to walk.  “How big is the Bear King’s Kingdom?” asked John.

“It will take us 4 days to walk around it,” said Robert.  “We must go North for one day before we can go West again.”

“That’s not good,” said Grace.  “King Richard’s army is pursuing us from the East.”

“Couldn’t we sneak back into the Bear King’s kingdom,” John said.  “There’s no one guarding it, and it’s a big forest.”

“There’s no one guarding it from the outside,” said Robert.  “But every animal that lives inside of it is a potential informer.  Every squirrel, every bird, every bee, every fly.  The Bear King would be informed we were in his kingdom within minutes.”

The four of them jogged through the woods as quickly as they could.  But there was a constant feeling that something big was coming.  

First, they began to notice more and more birds flying back and forth.  And Robert murmured that these birds were not from this part of the forest.

Then, there was more and more rustling of the leaves.  Henry, Grace and John could see nothing.  But Robert’s eyes were skilled at spotting animals hiding in the foliage, and he could see they were being tracked by a pack of silent wolves.  And unlike the wolves from the Bear King’s kingdom, these were wolves that he did not recognize.  

The wolves never attacked them, but they were always close by.  Robert knew that their job was only to track them, and make sure they didn’t get away, while the rest of the army caught up.  But how far behind was the rest of the army?

Robert had never been trapped in this forest.  But he was beginning to get nervous now.  The army was coming from the East.  They were forbidden to go West.  And he wasn’t sure they could get North quickly enough before the Army came.  Ordinarily Robert would try to disappear into the thickets or the thorn bushes, where only the animals and the forest rangers could find their way.  But there were no thickets now.  There were plenty of trees, but at this part of the forest, they weren’t thick enough to disappear into.

He started running faster.  He was used to running long distances in these forests.  His feet knew how to find their way on the uneven ground of the forest floor.  But the other three were having difficulty keeping up.  Robert could hear the wolves keeping pace with him.  It was no use trying to outrun the wolves.  But maybe they could outrun the human army that followed.

The wolves started howling as they ran.  They weren’t even trying to keep hidden anymore.  They were calling to the army to let them know where they were.  And then, off in the distance, Robert could hear the running of hundreds of human feet.  Things were desperate enough now that Robert might have considered crossing the line, and taking his chances back in the Bear King’s Kingdom.  But the wolves were flanking them now on that side.  By the time they fought their way past the wolves, the army would be on them.

Robert stopped running, and turned around abruptly to face the others.  “If they catch you, how long do you have before they kill you?” he asked.

They didn’t understand what he was talking about.  “What?” John asked.

“The army.  Will they kill you immediately, or will they try to take you back alive?”

“King Richard would never allow us back in the city alive,” said John.  “If the people could see us, they might take pity on us.  He’d make sure we were killed in the forest where no one could see us.”

Grace quickly cut John off.  “Maybe.  But these soldiers wouldn’t dare kill royalty by themselves.  They’d take us back to General Graten first.  Maybe even back to the provincial governor.”

“They’ll never get the chance to take us alive,” Henry declared, drawing his sword.

Robert couldn’t believe this was happening again, “My prince!” he yelled.  The panic was showing in Robert’s voice--the words came out in a shrill voice that he had not intended.  “Surely there is no shame in surrendering when we are but four against a whole army.”

“If I have to die, I will die fighting,” Henry said.

“There’s a chance we can get out of this,” Robert said.  “Don’t fight back.  Let them take us prisoner.  Trust me.”  

Henry kept holding his sword.  “Henry you promised,” Grace said.  “You said you would follow Robert’s instructions.”

Henry reluctantly put his sword back in its sheath.

Robert bent down to the ground, and spoke at the fallen leaves.  The others noticed there was a small inch worm on the ground that Robert was talking to.  “Get Fulvio.  Tell him the son of Midor is in trouble.  Tell him this is an opportunity for him to repay the debt he owes my father.” 

The wolves emerged from the foliage now and made no attempt at hiding themselves.  The human soldiers were also fast approaching.

As Grace had predicted, the soldiers didn’t dare to hurt them.  In fact, they treated Henry, Grace and John with respect.  “Your highnesses, thank goodness we found you,” said one of the soldiers.  “We’ve been so worried that something might happen to you in these woods.”

“You really should be more careful,” said another one.  “Don’t you know these woods are dangerous? We've been rushing to find you in time before something bad happened.”

“Your highness, let me take your sword for you,” said another soldier, who gently removed the sword from Henry’s belt.  “It’s very heavy, and a prince should never have to carry his own weapons.”  

“My princess, let me take your bow for you,” said another soldier, taking the bow out of Grace’s hand, while another soldier removed the quiver of arrows from her soldier.  Both Henry and Grace looked at Robert, and when he nodded to them, they did not protest.  

“Please, come with us, your highnesses.  We will take you back to safety.”  The words were spoken kindly, and accompanied by a slight bow and hands outstretched in invitation.  But it was notable that while all these kind words were being spoken, the soldiers had also completely surrounded the princes and princess.  

The princes and princess were led away gently by the hands.  Robert, however, was not royalty, and the soldiers felt no need to treat him like such.  He was roughly grabbed and pushed in the same direction as the others.

As Robert was being and pushed roughly through the forest, a curious bumble bee buzzed over to see what was happening.  “Fulvio.  Get Fulvio,” Robert muttered softly.  And the bee flew away.